Walking in Wisdom: Week 1, Monday

Week 1 - Monday        

Read:  Proverbs 1:1-7    {SOAP:  Proverbs 1:7}

S –  (The proverbs of Shelomoh son of Dawiḏ, sovereign of Yisra’ĕl:

For knowing wisdom and discipline, For understanding the words of understanding,

For receiving the discipline of wisdom, Righteousness, right-ruling, and straightness;

For giving insight to the simple, Knowledge and discretion to the young.

The wise one hears and increases learning, And the understanding one gets wise counsel,

For understanding a proverb and a figure, The words of the wise and their riddles.)

The fear of יהוה is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and discipline.

O&A – You know, when I went through confirmation class in 7^th and 8^th grades, my memory verse was similar to this.  “The fear of the LORD, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.”  Job 28:28.  This is repeated throughout Mishlei/the book of Proverbs, and when Abba repeats things to us, we should know it’s especially important!  So looking at this passage today, I see this:

If the wise one hears and increases learning, and the understanding one gets wise counsel, then they are able to begin to discern, understand, and gain wisdom.  But a fool despises wisdom and discipline – my understanding is that the fool follows his own devices.  He doesn’t want to learn of Adonai, nor does he want to do what is right in Adonai’s eyes.  I’m jumping ahead, but Proverbs 21:2 says, “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart.”  That word way is derek in Hebrew, and means path, journey, direction, manner, habit, course of life, moral character.  So we can either be on Adonai’s path, or be like the fool who thinks his own path is the right one.

Why would we need all of these reminders?  Because Abba knows His people can be stubborn, disobedient, willful of spirit (who, me?!?), and maybe sometimes puffed up in ourselves.  This verse uses a word that always grabs my attention – beginning.  In Hebrew, it is re’shiyth, and that is the first word in the Bible – Bereshiyt – In the beginning.   So even from the beginning of creation, Adonai has wanted us to choose wisdom over folly, His ways over our ways, His yoke upon us, not the world’s burdens.   He has always wanted us to consider Him in all that we do, weighing our thoughts, words, and deeds against what He says and does.  

Can I say that I have always been faithful in this?  Sadly, no. 

P – Abba, as we turn our hearts to You, and incline our ears to Your words, please have mercy upon us – for the foolish things we find ourselves doing, for the tempers lost and words coming out of our mouths that don’t glorify You, and for putting things above You.  Help me to be wise/learn wisdom according to Your guidelines, and not be foolish.  Thank You for being a good Father, and loving us more than enough, and giving us Your instructions.  In Yeshua’s name, Amein.